So I’m probably going to be speaking to the Junior and Senior High kids for the first time this year tomorrow, unless I’m told otherwise. I thought I’d be starting a new theme with them, and I might – Mere Christianity is looking to be a good book to follow along with them (or, if not them, then my main Sunday congregation).
But I’m thinking, before I go down that path with them, I’d let them in on my vision for the year, for my ministry: That is, that this year is going to be a year of Movement.
I’d ask them, have you ever been so inspired by someone or something, that it made you move, or it changed the way you move? Then I’d simply just let them in on a fact – or, rather, a Truth for them to consider: That Christ moves in you, and in your life, whether you feel it or not; and as such, He can also make you move.
I’d tell them about what Eras told me, regarding his observation on how the Australians he encountered didn’t need to shout expletives, or to shout at all, to get their compatriots to shape up and move… No, he shared that all they needed to do was to tell whoever was falling behind – ‘Switch On, Mate’.
In the same regard, Christ has covered us, and He does not look at us in condemnation, so we need not fear, nor do we look for inspiration before we do what we’re built to do. Christ has set us free to ‘Switch On’, no matter what’s going on.
And before I go any further, I suppose I’d pray for them – and, consequently, I’d like to pray for you as well, dear reader:
Father, thank You for who You are. Thank You for overwhelming us with Your everlasting love. Thank You for impressing us with Your amazing grace. And thank You for encouraging us with Your infinite peace. You have built us with talents and skills. You build us through having us learn through all the situations we’ve been through before. You continue to build us, and the more we appreciate this, the more we realize that You have built us to move. Thank You for being with my brothers and sisters, in so far as ministering to them, so they don’t need to have to feel something before they move. Also, thank You for ministering to them, so that they don’t need to get rid of any fear before they move. Consistently remind them of the righteousness You have given them through Christ. Consistently remind them that through Christ’s finished work, they never need to wonder if You’re there or not. Lord, thank You, because by Your birth, death, resurrection and ascension, we know that You will never leave us; And not only can we appreciate how You are with us – Not only are You with us, but You are for us; who can be against us?
Allow us, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, to continue to remember Your faithfulness to us, that we can move. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
So through Christ, we are more than able to keep on switching on, and therefore we are able to fearlessly embark on more adventures, and in the process, we learn more lessons. Through Christ and His finished work, we are able to move.
But it doesn’t stop there – for see, we don’t just move, but we move forward. And here’s where I read out what I’ve been quoting from 1 Samuel:
Then (David) took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine (Goliath).
And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hand.”
1 Samuel 17:40-47
So I’m not so sure if I want to go as graphic as these verses imply, but considering what these kids probably watch without supervision, I guess it’ll be okay. Or I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just stick to the following points. David approached Goliath, and Goliath’s response had 3 points: (1) He was well aware of how seemingly inadequate David was concerning his weapons, (2) he cursed David by his gods, and (3) he was taunting David by telling him the really bad things he was going to do to him. But David was intimidated. David did not fear, nor was he anxious. Instead, he answered Goliath point by point: (1) David was also aware of the many weapons Goliath had at his disposal, but nevertheless (2) David’s confidence was in the LORD of hosts, and the God of the armies of Israel, and (3) it’s the LORD who will deliver Goliath into his hand, ‘that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,’ and He ‘saves not with sword and spear’, because the battle is already His.
The point here is, we aren’t just moving, but we are moving forward. And in our moving forward, there will be mountains that may try to stop us, and giants that may try to scare us… But we will move forward in peace and power, knowing that it’s God who helps us, and it’s God who will give us the victory.
With that said, I’ll pray for them, and for you, again:
Father, thank You, for in these moments when there may be giants that try to scare us, and mountains that try to stop us, we will continue to push forward; We are not afraid, for we are secure in perfect love that casts out all fear, just as David was secure that it wasn’t who he was or what he had that would save him; We are fearless as he was, because Christ paid such a great price for us to come to our giants and mountains in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Please continue to remind us of Your love, so we would not doubt Your faithfulness in our hour of need. Thank You for Your love. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
This seems to be my plan for tomorrow, and for the Fridays to come, we’ll take some time to talk about movement, as well as taking time to pray.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a Reply